Ford Cougar - universal sports car

Ford Cougar (in the United States affectionately called "cougar") - the designation under which the American sport car Mercury Cougar - a car produced by the famous Ford company from 1998 to 2001 - was sold in Europe. During the four-year history of this model, 34,000 units were produced. It was a three-door coupe-hatch, built on the platform of a large family sedan Ford Mondeo and executed in the contradictory style of New Edge. Ford Cougar turned out to be quite long, its dimensions turned out to be greater than that of its predecessor, which allowed to improve comfort for passengers in the back seat. Due to the length and wide wheelbase, the car looks a little low.

This was Ford's second attempt to reintroduce the sports coupe in Europe, in the same vein as the successful but long-absent Capri - the company's first attempt. The 1998 premiere of the Ford Cougar reviews sparked mixed, in part because of the new and controversial New Edge styling - a clear style that is subsequently applied to most of the models from Ford. His sales have never been brisk, despite the good reviews that characterized Cougar as an effective, comfortable and easily managed car.
Like its predecessor, the Ford Probe, the Ford Cougar was sold and manufactured in the United States. Although cars intended for sale in Europe and the UK, were going to the Ford plant in Germany.
In the United Kingdom, Ford introduced the car at the British Grand Prix at Silverstone in 1998.

Cougar was equipped with a 2 liter or 2.5 liter engine with two levels of specification. Mechanical and automatic transmissions were available. All variants were equipped with 16-inch disks as standard. The 2-liter version had a power of 128 hp. In the standard configuration, while the 2.5-liter was rated at 170 hp. Critics have described the car as efficient and confidently managed even on difficult roads. This was facilitated by wheels with tires width 215 mm, which greatly improved its turning ability.

The model with improvements was equipped with a large engine. It also had soft leather and heated front seats, 6 radio speakers. For an additional fee it was possible to install windscreen heating, electrical opening of the sunroof and metallic color.

For its time, the Ford Cougar had a fairly spacious and well-equipped interior. Adjustment of the driver's seat is carried out by means of an electric drive, the control of which is made on the base of the seat cushion, near the left hand. Adjustment is carried out up-down, forward-backward, the angle of inclination of its back also changes. Cougar could accommodate four people and had 0.4 cubic meters of storage space. Such dimensions are not often found in the coupe-hatchback.

The standard equipment includes seat belts for the driver, passenger and side airbags, as well as brakes with ABS. The Ford Cougar is well protected against theft and break-in thanks to the engine immobilizer, remote control, central and dual locking systems, and alarms.
In general, it is quite a decent sports car, which has much more opportunities than the one hundred percent coupe. In 2001, the Cougar was discontinued.